The present invention is directed to a solar thermal electric power plant. Such a power plant normally includes a solar collector, such as heliostatic mirrors, which concentrates the reflected sunlight on a number of receptors mounted on towers. Some type of fluid is heated in the receptor and connected to a steam turbine type power plant.
Prior designs of solar electric plants have been of a relatively small scale and have not been competitive with either large scale fossil fuel or nuclear fuel power plants. Solar power has, of course, obvious advantages over fossil fuel plants in that there is no depletion of nonrenewable resources and over nuclear power plants from both contamination and safety aspects.